Bus Services: Concessions

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to facilitate the cross-border application of concessionary bus passes; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The implementation of any cross border concessionary travel arrangements is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities, and the Department for Transport. I have asked officials to keep me informed of developments in this area.
	The Concessionary Bus Travel Act (2007) came into force at the start of this month and implements a concessionary scheme in England. The Welsh scheme has been in place since 2002.
	A fully reciprocal UK-wide scheme would require secondary legislation to be put in place and at present the focus of the Act is to ensure a successful introduction of the new England-wide concession.
	English and Welsh local authorities are currently able to come to individual agreements with bus companies for their residents to use their passes for cross border travel as they see fit.

Integrated Transport: Northern England

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken to improve the integrated transport infrastructure in the North West and other Northern regions.

Rosie Winterton: Total public sector transport spend across the three northern regions was over £3.5 billion in 2006-07, 66 per cent. higher than in 2001-02.
	Total spend in North West increased by 76 per cent. over the same period. Over the next three years, local authorities across the north are benefiting from £1.35 billion of Local Transport Plan funding.

Road Congestion: West Yorkshire

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to reduce road congestion in West Yorkshire.

Rosie Winterton: In 2006, the Department for Transport agreed an urban congestion target with the West Yorkshire Transport Authority.
	We have also provided West Yorkshire £210 million of funding to support local transport improvements over the next three years.

A417

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with the Highways Agency on improvements to the A417 in the Nettleton Bottom and Crickley Hill areas of Gloucestershire; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: On 12 March 2008 the Highways Agency informed me of the results of the review into the possibility of a lower cost solution to address the problems between Cowley and Brockworth on the A417 in Gloucestershire.
	The right hon. Gentleman will also know that this matter was fully debated last night at the A417 Improvement Scheme Adjournment Debate, secured by the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown).
	HA concluded that the original major scheme 'the brown route' remains the optimal solution.

Left-hand Drive Heavy Goods Vehicles: Safety

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government are taking to improve the safety record of left hand drive heavy goods vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We are continuing to increase the level of enforcement activity undertaken by the Department's Vehicle and Operator Services Agency targeted against heavy commercial vehicles on international journeys. We have made significant additional funding available to VOSA for this purpose over the last couple of years, and we will be adding a further £24 million over the next three years. This means 97 extra enforcement staff, 24/7 checking at key sites, as well as two additional check sites, all leading to around 75,000 additional checks.
	We will also be adding a significant new deterrent against non-compliance with the introduction of 'on-the-spot financial penalties' early next year. This will mean that non-UK-resident offenders will—at last—be facing similar enforcement action to that taken against UK vehicle operators and to that which has been taken by other member states against UK drivers for many years.

Property: Database

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 49W, on property: database, what central funding London Connects  (a) has received and  (b) is receiving for Valuebill.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 525W. No further funding will be provided in the next 12 months.

Angling: Expenditure

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide a detailed breakdown of his Department's expenditure on fisheries improvements for anglers in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency receives fisheries-specific funding from the Government amounting to £9.5 million per annum. The Environment Agency also receives income from the sale of licences from anglers and netsmen amounting to nearly £21.5 million per annum.
	This income funds a range of activities and fisheries improvements at regional and national level, which are of benefit to anglers. This includes the monitoring of fish stocks, investigation and remediation of incidents affecting fish such as disease, drought, pollution and floods; provision of advice on the development and improvement of fisheries, as well as the regulation of fishing through a licensing system which helps protect the resource for the future.
	The Environment Agency fisheries budget specifically allocates a national improvement and development project budget to fund projects that improve fisheries habitat, facilities and access for anglers. Many of these projects are undertaken in partnership with other organisations, usually leading to relatively highly-geared expenditure by partners on fisheries improvements.
	The following table provides overall expenditure on fisheries over the past five years together with national improvement and development project budget.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total regional expenditure on fisheries 18.2 19.4 19.5 19.7 20.8 
			 Total national expenditure on fisheries 8.2 8.8 8.9 9.5 10.5 
			 Overall expenditure on fisheries 26.4 28.2 28.4 29.2 31.3 
			   
			 National improvement and development project budget 1.7 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.4 
		
	
	The national improvement and development project budget in the overall total is part of the regional expenditure on fisheries.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badgers found dead on roads were tested for tuberculosis in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: Badger carcases found dead on roads or motorways are the responsibility of the appropriate local authority or Highways Agency. The carcases are not routinely examined for signs of bovine TB at post mortem.
	DEFRA's Road Traffic Accident (RTA) survey of badgers found dead on roads in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire ran from 2002 to 2005. During that time culture results were obtained for 3,238 carcases. Of these, 481 (approximately 15 per cent.) were positive for bovine TB.
	An extended post mortem examination carried out on a sample of 205 badgers culled as part of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial revealed substantially more infected animals; approximately double the rate, compared to standard post-mortem examination. Badgers submitted under the RTA survey underwent standard post-mortem examination. Therefore, these prevalence values are likely to be under-estimates.

Cetaceans: Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the UK has taken to reduce cetacean by-catch; and what representations he has made to the EU on common arrangements.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA and the devolved administrations' fisheries departments published the UK Small Cetacean By-catch Response Strategy in March 2003. An update on the progress of implementing the strategy can be found on the DEFRA website.
	As part of this strategy, the UK Government have put over £2 million, between 2000 and 2008, into researching by-catch mitigation measures and monitoring by-catch on vessels through observers. The purpose of this is to identify those fisheries responsible for high levels of cetacean by-catch and mitigation measures that are effective at deterring cetaceans over the long-term and safe and cost-effective for the industry.
	In December 2004, the UK Government banned pelagic pair trawling for bass by UK vessels within 12 miles off the south-west coast of England because of concerns it was the cause of large numbers of dolphin deaths. Unfortunately, the European Commission did not support the UK's request to extend this ban to the vessels of other member states operating within these waters.
	Member states are required under Council Regulation (EC) 812/2004 to present an annual report to the European Commission on their by-catch observer programmes. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has been asked by the European Commission to look at these annual reports. I await their analysis before deciding if representations need to be made to the Commission about common arrangements.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days sick leave were taken on average by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on sickness absence in the Civil Service is available at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/sickness.asp
	Published data is available from the 2004 calendar year to the 2006-07 financial year. The average number of working days lost by each member of staff in DEFRA was as follows:
	2004: 7.4
	2005: 8.2
	2006-07: 7.5

Farms: Inspections

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 123-4W, on farms: inspections, what proportion of the Animal Health budget for 2007-08 is allocated to on-farm work; what the cost was to the public purse arising from farm inspections conducted by the  (a) Rural Payments Agency,  (b) Environment Agency,  (c) Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate,  (d) Natural England,  (e) Food Standards Agency,  (f) Pesticides Safety Directorate and  (g) Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The total Animal Health budget for 2007-08 was £109,864,000. The proportion for on-farm work is 65 per cent., and is estimated to be £71,412,000. This is only an estimate as not all bills have been processed. This estimate includes all on-farm work, including inspections and visits, and back office costs, for example, administration and travel. This does not include disease outbreak costs and costs relating to abattoir visits.
	The reduction in percentage for this financial year is mainly attributed to staff who would have been carrying out on-farm work being required to work on the disease outbreaks in 2007 (estimated to be around 16 per cent. of budget). Therefore, being unable to perform the on-farm work recorded here.
	The following table sets out the costs to the public purse incurred by inspections carried out by the Rural Payments Agency. The figure is all-inclusive, covering direct cost of conducting on-farm inspections, management, co-ordination, support and administrative costs such as accommodation, equipment and travel.
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2003-04 10,335,572 
			 2004-05 10,026,506 
			 2005-06 11,816,061 
			 2006-07 13,365,000 
			 2007-08 12,932,423 
		
	
	The Environment Agency operates an integrated programme of farm inspections covering a number of regulatory regimes. Some regulatory regimes provide for charges to recover costs from those that are regulated while others are funded by Grant in Aid from DEFRA.
	The Environment Agency estimates that the annual Grant in Aid cost of agricultural inspections is approximately £3.4 million. This has not changed significantly over the last five years.
	The Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) undertakes a range of plant health duties. While this includes some on-farm inspections, the majority of PHSI inspection work is undertaken either at points of entry or on horticultural premises. It is not possible to separately identify expenditure specific to on-farm work.
	Natural England does not undertake formal farm inspections. All formal farm inspections in relation to England Rural Development Programme and Rural Development Programme for England agreements are conducted by the Rural Payments Agency Inspectorate.
	The Pesticides Safety Directorate does not undertake farm inspections.
	The Health and Safety Executive is not an Agency of DEFRA.

Fisheries: Subsidies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department holds on  (a) European Union grants made to national fisheries committees of each member state and  (b) grants to national fisheries committees by each member state authorised by the European Commission since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: We do not hold information on grant paid to national fisheries committees in other member states in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 391/2007 of 11 April 2007. This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 as regards the expenditure incurred by member states in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the Common Fisheries Policy.
	European Union grant awarded to each member state is set out in a Commission Decision which is published annually in the Commission's Official Journal. The Commission Decision gives details of how much grant has been awarded to each member state and for the broad project areas. Details are available on the Commission's website.

Meat

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to increase the proportion of beef, pork and lamb meat consumed in England which has been produced in England.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government recognise that the marketing of local food can bring benefits for producers and consumers. In general, fewer middlemen are involved, and this allows farmers and small producers to retain a higher proportion of the end price of their produce. It also increases consumer choice and raises awareness and interest in local food by helping to improve consumers' links with, and understanding of, the rural economy and food production. Suppliers will flourish by providing what customers want and there is growing public enthusiasm for locally produced food and food with a clear regional provenance.
	We have helped to facilitate local sourcing by providing funding (through our various grant schemes and our support for Food from Britain) towards a range of measures helping regional and local food producers overcome barriers to market. Examples include "meet the buyer" events, the encouragement of food hubs and shared distribution facilities, and training seminars. Support is also available under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) for activities linked to the promotion of quality regional and local food culture, the use of native English breeds of cattle in environmental stewardship schemes and for activities linked to promoting the economic sustainability of the livestock sector.
	I also refer the right hon. Member to the oral ministerial statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn) on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 39, in which he announced a package of measures to help those farmers most affected by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. This included £2 million for the promotion and marketing of lamb, beef and pork both at home and in our export markets. The domestic promotional activity carried out by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (Eblex) and the British Pig Executive ran from October 2007 to March 2008 and, during the specific periods of promotion, four week volume sales increased between 2 and 14 per cent. compared to the previous year.
	DEFRA also provided £1.2 million of funding from August 2006 to March of this year to kick-start the Beef Better Returns Programme administered by Eblex. This has involved measures to improve the competitiveness of the English beef sector and promote the product under the English Beef Quality Mark.
	In addition to this, DEFRA's ongoing Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), launched in 2003 to help deliver the Government's Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy, aims to increase opportunities for small and local producers to tender to supply food to the public sector. Our funding of this initiative has helped support workshops for buyers and suppliers, regional pilot projects to develop the supply side, and a range of guides aimed at both food producers and public sector buyers. More information on the PSFPI can be found on the DEFRA website.
	However, the success of the livestock sectors in England will continue to depend upon their ability to compete upon market principles, including performance, quality and welfare standards.

Pet Travel Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which countries have  (a) multilateral and  (b) bilateral arrangements with the UK with regard to the Pet Travel scheme.

Jonathan R Shaw: UK-resident dogs, cats and ferrets can travel to any of the countries and territories shown as follows and return to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). Pets that come from any of these countries can also enter the UK under PETS as long as they meet the rules. Pets must not have been outside any of the listed countries in the six calendar months before travelling to the UK in order to qualify.
	Andorra
	Antigua and Barbuda
	Antilles
	Argentina
	Aruba
	Ascension Island
	Australia
	Austria
	Azores
	Bahrain
	Balearic Islands
	Barbados
	Belarus
	Belgium
	Bermuda
	Bosnia-Herzegovina
	British Virgin Islands
	Bulgaria
	Canada
	Canary Islands
	Cayman Islands
	Ceuta
	Chilli
	Croatia
	Cyprus(1)
	Czech Republic
	Denmark
	Falkland Islands
	Estonia
	Faroe Islands
	Fiji
	Finland
	French Guyana
	French Polynesia
	France
	Germany
	Gibraltar
	Greece
	Greenland
	Guadeloupe(2)
	Guam
	Hawaii
	Hong Kong
	Hungary
	Iceland
	Ireland(3)
	Italy
	Jamaica(4)
	Japan
	Latvia
	Liechtenstein
	Lithuania,
	Luxembourg
	Martinique
	Madeira
	Malaysia(5)
	Malta
	Mauritius
	Mayotte
	Melillia
	Mexico
	Monaco
	Montserrat
	Netherlands
	New Caledonia
	New Zealand
	Norway
	Poland
	Portugal
	Reunion
	Romania
	Russian Federation(6)
	San Marino
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
	Spain
	St. Helena
	St. Kitts and Nevis
	St. Pierre and Miquelon
	St. Vincent
	Singapore
	Sweden
	Switzerland
	Taiwan
	Trinidad and Tobago
	United Arab Emirates
	USA (mainland)
	Vanuatu
	Vatican
	Wallis and Funtuna.
	(1 )Dogs, cats and ferrets prepared for PETS in, or returning under PETS to the UK from, the Republic of Cyprus may enter or re-enter the UK without quarantine. However, PETS compliant animals travelling from north Cyprus (the area north of the buffer zone) must be licensed into quarantine for six months on arrival in the UK. This must be arranged before the animal travels.
	(2) Includes St. Barthelemy and St. Martin (French part of the island).
	(3) No preparation or documentation is necessary for the movement of pets directly between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
	(4) Although Jamaica is a qualifying country under the EU Regulation, Jamaican law currently prevents the involvement of that country in PETS. PETS-prepared animals may not enter Jamaica and animals may not be prepared for PETS in Jamaica.
	(5) The import into UK quarantine of dogs and cats from Malaysia (Peninsula) is prohibited unless health certification provided by the Malaysian veterinary authorities is provided which confirms that the cat or dog:
	(i) has had no contact with pigs during at least the 60 days prior to export; and
	(ii) has not been resident on holdings where during the past 60 days any case of Nipah disease has been confirmed; and
	(iii) has been subjected with a negative result to an IgC capture ELISA test carried out in a laboratory approved for testing for antibody against the Nipah disease viruses by the competent veterinary authorities on a sample of blood taken within 10 days of export.
	(6) The Russian Federation consists of 88 subjects (regions). Please note that the following Republics are not part of the Russian Federation: Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Recreation Spaces: Urban Areas

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pieces of land have been designated as a town green under the Commons Act 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information is not held centrally. No practical distinction is made in law between town and village greens. A survey of commons registration authorities undertaken in September 2007 recorded that, among the two- fifths of authorities responding, four new greens had been registered under section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 since it was brought into force on 6 April 2007.

Whales: Conservation

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations his Department has made to the government of  (a) Angola,  (b) the Republic of Congo,  (c) Equatorial Guinea,  (d) Eritrea,  (e) Ghana,  (f) Malawi,  (g) the Federal States of Micronesia,  (h) Tanzania and  (i) Vanuatu on the recruitment of each to the International Whaling Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The publication "Protecting Whales—A Global Responsibility" has been sent to over 60 countries, both anti and pro-whaling, including current and non members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), encouraging them to join the effort to protect these species.
	Providing details of these countries and the letters sent to them could compromise our efforts to either persuade conservation minded countries to join the IWC and adopt an anti-whaling stance, or if thinking of joining the IWC with a pro- Foreign and whaling stance, change their mind.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts will continue to lobby countries in support of the UK's position, seeking to encourage new anti-whaling members to the IWC and endeavouring to change the opinion of Governments which currently support whaling.

Armed Forces: Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many homes his Department sold in each local authority area of Scotland in each year since 1997; and what proportion of those homes were sold or otherwise transferred to the relevant local authority or a registered social landlord in each of those years.

Derek Twigg: Records of all Service housing sold in Scotland since 1997 are either not held centrally or no longer available. It will take a time to establish what information can be provided without incurring disproportionate cost and effort. I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Danny Alexander:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your question on 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 785W, about the number of homes the Department sold in each local authority area of Scotland in each year since 1997 and the proportion that were sold or otherwise transferred to the relevant local authority or registered social landlord.
	Information in the detail requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, I am able to provide details of Ministry of Defence properties sold in Scotland in each financial year since 2000-01, which are at Annex A.
	
		
			  Current financial year to end February 2008?Updated 25 March 2008 
			  Site  Address  Town  Financial year 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 48 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 58 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 62 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 The Sheilings 20 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Polton Estate MQ's De Quincey Road No. 29 Edinburgh 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 54 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 92 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 The Sheilings 16 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Condor Drive MQ's Condor Drive—No. 2 Arbroath 2007 
			 Condor Drive MQ's Condor Drive—No. 6 Arbroath 2007 
			 The Common, Fort George 1 The Common Inverness 2007 
			 The Common, Fort George 2 The Common Inverness 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive MQ's 28 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Thornhill MQ's 23 Thornhill Crescent Forres 2007 
			 De Quincey Road SFA 31 De Quincey Road Edinburgh 2007 
			 The Sheilings 18 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Howburn Road 9 Howburn Road Thurso 2007 
			 Nordabrake SFA and Taftens SFA 1 and 2 Taftens, 1-7, 9, 11-13, 17 and 18 Nordabrake Haroldswick 2007 
			 Morlich Place Morlich Place No. 18 Kinross 2007 
			 Nordabrake SFA and Taftens SFA 8, 10, 14, 15, 16 Nordabrake Haroldswick 2007 
			 Ashwood Circle SFA Ashwood Circle No. 19 Aberdeen 2007 
			 Ashwood Circle SFA Ashwood Circle No. 21 Aberdeen 2007 
			 The Wimberley Estate Former Community Centre 22-26 (Evens) Somme Crescent Inverness 2007 
			 Wollocombe Square and Harper Way SFA 2 Harper Way Scone 2007 
			 Alnwickhill Road 128 Alnwickhill Road (Laurel Lodge) Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 47 Cramond Road North Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 51 Cramond Road North Edinburgh 2007 
			 St. Annes Avenue Estate 35 De Quincey Road, Polton Edinburgh 2007 
			 The Sheilings 2 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 37 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvlt Drive SFA 41 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 45 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 47 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 60 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 66 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 70 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 74 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 76 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 82 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 88 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 96 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 St. Annes Ave Estate 33 De Quincey Road Edinburgh 2007 
			 Lossiemouth Road Elgin - 91/93 Lossiemouth Road Elgin 2007 
			 Redhall View 1 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 Redhall View 21 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA Cramond Place Nos. 4, 6, 8 and 10 and Garage site Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 12 Cramond Place Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 14 Cramond Place Edinburgh 2007 
			 Morlich Place SFA Morlich Place No. 30 Kinross 2007 
			 Redhall View MQ's 3 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 North Gyle Drive SFA 6 North Gyle Drive Edinburgh 2007 
			 North Gyle Drive SFA 17 North Gyle Drive Edinburgh 2007 
			 Lanark Road and Redhall View SFA 9 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 Warick Estate SFA Various addresses Warick Close Leuchars 2007 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2006-07 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Ashwood Circle 23-37 Aberdeen 2006 
			 Condor Drive MQ's Arbroath 2006 
			 Tuzo Close MQ's Balivanich 2006 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's Cupar 2006 
			 Parkhead Lodge Glencorse 2006 
			 Thornhill Forres 2006 
			 Rowmore Cottages Garelochhead 2006 
			 Lammermuir Drive Paisley 2006 
			 Stormont Road SFA (Phase 3) Scone 2006 
			 Invernettie Estate Peterhead 2006 
			 The Sheilings Estate Boddam 2006 
			 Settlers Hill MQ's Haroldswick 2006 
			 Dundonald Cres Irvine 2006 
			 Thornhill Forres 2006 
			 St. Gerardines Road Lossiemouth 2006 
			 Stormont Road SFA (Phase 3) Scone 2006 
			 Cramond Place SFA Edinburgh 2006 
			 Polton Estate MQ's Edinburgh 2006 
			 Settlers Hill MQ's Haroldswick 2006 
			 Cromarty Place MQ's Lossiemouth 2006 
			 Shaw Place MQ's Elgin 2006 
			 Shackelton Place / Cromarty Place MQ's Lossiemouth 2006 
			 Polton Estate MQ's Edinburgh 2006 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2005-06 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 17-30 and 53-76 Settlers Hill Haroldswick 2005 
			 Pinefield - 1-83 Pinefield Cres. Phase 3. Elgin 2005 
			 Blaven Court Forres 2005 
			 12 Pinegrove Elgin 2005 
			 Thornhill Forres 2005 
			 Clifton Road - Wellfield Ave Giffnock 2005 
			 Gallowhill Road Kinross 2005 
			 Shackleton Place Lossiemouth 2005 
			 10 St. Olaf Road Thurso 2005 
			 The Sheilings - Phase 4 (Part) Boddam 2005 
			 Invernettie Estate Peterhead 2005 
			 Tuzo Close MQs Balivanish 2005 
			 Gordon Close Estate - Phase 3 (24 FQs) Boddam 2005 
			 Claymore Estate - Phase 2 (34 FQs) Elgin 2005 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2004-05 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 The Sheilings - Phase 4 Peterhead 2004 
			 12 Avon Place Edinburgh 2004 
			 Pilmuir Est MQ's - (15 in 005/06) Forres 2004 
			 Pilmuir Est MQ's - (17 in 03/04 + 15 in 04/05) Forres 2004 
			 Thornhill Forres 2004 
			 6 Roxburgh Place Fort William 2004 
			 Wellfield Avenue and Clifton Road Giffnock 2004 
			 4 Seafield Walk Keith 2004 
			 100-106 Stormont Road Scone 2004 
			 108, 110, 112 and 114 Stormont Road-Phase2 Scone 2004 
			 Fairmount House Perth 2004 
			 FQs Invernettie Estate All remaining houses. Peterhead 2004 
			 Remainder of Estate MQ's Nos. 23 and 26 and Lock-up No. 4 Grampian Road Rosyth 2004 
			 32 Castlegreen Road Thurso 2004 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2003-04 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Belmont Avenue/Chalmers Road Ayr 2003 
			 Marine House Crombie 2003 
			 Pinegrove Maisonettes (13-36)(24) Elgin 2003 
			 Pilmuir Estate MQ's Forres 2003 
			 Churchill Estate(SO) Helensburgh 2003 
			 12 and 26Morlich Place Kinross 2003 
			 FQs Invernettie Estate All remaining houses Peterhead 2003 
			 2-50 (evens) 13-23(odds) Grampian Rd Rosyth 2003 
			 Remainder of Estate MQ's (8) + (4) Grampian Rosyth 2003 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2002-03 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Sherbrooke Estate Rosyth 2002 
			 Kaimes Grove Kirknewton 2002 
			 St. Leonards Bank(3 and 7) Perth 2002 
			 67B Portland Street Troon 2002 
			 7 & 9 Catherine Grove Boness 2002 
			 Claymore Estate - Ph 1 - 26 Houses Peterhead 2002 
			 31 and 33 Hillside; 34, 26 Cairnview Rd Milton of Campsie 2002 
			 69 Clifton Rd Lossiemouth 2002 
			 26 Tandlehill Road Helensburgh 2002 
			 2-10 Bridgend Kirkcaldy 2002 
			 Churchill Estate (50) Helensburgh 2002 
			 Belmont Avenue/Chalmers Rd MQ's Ayr 2002 
			 10 Woodfarm Road Glasgow 2002 
			 30 Birdston Road Milton of Campsie 2002 
			 35-43 Lammermuir Drive Glasgow 2002 
			 Camperdown Drive (10) and Falkland Drive Arbroath 2002 
			 MQ's - Pilmuir Estate (60) Forres 2002 
			 76, 78, 80 Pilmuir (3) Forres 2002 
			 5 Market Road Laurencekirk 2002 
			 9 Hawthorn Road Peterhead 2002 
			 Kings Park (3) Glasgow 2002 
			 Invernettie (3) Monument Close ph 1 Peterhead 2002 
			 Grampian Road 25-41 (odd) (9) Rosyth 2002 
			 12 Jamieson Drive Stornoway 2002 
			 40 Ormlie Crescent Thurso 2002 
			 4 and 6 Ashwood Circle Aberdeen 2002 
			 133 and 135 Carmunnock Road Glasgow 2002 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2001-02 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Ex Offr's MQs Observatory Lerwick 2001 
			 Rosyth, Torridon Lane, Dr, PI, Grampian Pl, Ct, Rd Dunfermline 2001 
			 Dunalister House/Laverockdale cot/polo fields Edinburgh 2001 
			 1 Middlemuir Road Stirling 2001 
			 New farm loch Phase 2 Kilmarnock 2001 
			 7 and 9 Catherine Grove Boness, 2001 
			 MQ's - 59-71 and 77 Annfield Gardens Phase 2 Stirling, 2001 
			 Benbecula 1-18 Meallard, 35-46 Winfield Way 1-20 and 23-60 Tindall Rd Benbecula 2001 
			 40, 42 Sutcliffe St, Anniesland Glasgow, 2001 
			 2-20 (even) Hunter Rd, 2-12 (even) Leach CL and Southern CL Arbroath 2001 
			 2-8 (even), 9-15 (odd), 19, 27, 31, 35 and 39 Scotstown Rd Phase 2 Peterhead, 2001 
			 Flats 1 to 6 @ 10, 30, 54, 64, 66 Clifton Rd Lossiemouth, 2001 
			 Polton Estate (56) Edinburgh 2001 
			 MQs - 109 to 123 Califer Road Forres 2001 
			 19/21 Mains Avenue Helensburgh 2001 
			 1, 3, 10 and 12 Woodfarm Road Glasgow 2001 
			 35-43 Lammermuir Drive Paisley 2001 
			 53-55 Viewpark Drive Glasgow 2001 
			 28 and 134 Pennyland Drive Thurso 2001 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2000-01 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Ardersier MQs Kinloss 2000 
			 38 and 40 Crosshill Drive Boness 2000 
			 Churchill Estate (Part) Dunbritton Helensburgh 2000 
			 Crombie Farm House Dunfermline 2000 
			 2 and 4 Limekilns Rd Dunfermline 2000 
			 10-20 (even) Covesea Rd Elgin 2000 
			 Forres, 83-107 (odd), 104-108 (even), 112-160 (even) Califer Rd; 12-24 (even), 13-27 (odd) Drumine Rd Forres 2000 
			 44, 46 Sutcliffe St, Anniesland Glasgow 2000 
			 1-40 and 42-74 (even) Camperdown Ct, 1 -1 5 Golf PI. Phases 1 and 2 Helensburgh 2000 
			 MQs Wimberley Way-Future Disposals Phase 1 Inverness 2000 
			 New farm loch Phase 1 Kilmarnock 2000 
			 2-16 (even) Kelas Ave; 44-50 (even), 53-67 (odd) Moray St; 1 to 7 (odd) Park Place; 18 to 24 (even) MacDuff St; 30 to 36 (even) Elgin Rd; 1 to 7 (odd) Gilmour Cres; 17 to 31 (odd) St. Gerardine's Rd Lossiemouth 2000 
			 RAF MQs Machrihanish 2000 
			 1 and 2 St. Dunstan's Lane Melrose 2000 
			 2-8 (even), 9-15 (odd), 19, 27, 31, 35 and 39 Scotstown Rd Phase 1 Peterhead 2000 
			 RAF Pitreavie MQ's Dunfermline 2000 
			 RAF Edzell MQ's Brechin 2000 
			 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 Forbes Road Dunfermline 2000 
			 MQs - 59-71 and 77 Annfield Gardens Phase 1 Stirling 2000 
			 MQs - 22 Middlemuir Rd; 8 Borrowlea Roa Stirling 2000

Army: Uniforms

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the cut and sew contract for army uniforms runs out; and when the tender process for the future cut and sew contract begins.

Bob Ainsworth: The Cut and Sew contract runs out in September 2009. The tender process for the new requirement is due to commence shortly.

Ministers Private Offices

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs of Ministers' private offices in his Department were in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: I am able to provide costs back to financial year 2002-03. There is no requirement for the Department to retain financial information beyond the six year period.
	To ensure completeness, data are provided for the business unit within which Ministers' private offices are categorised, and therefore also includes the costs of the private office for the Permanent Under Secretary as well as the MOD parliamentary branch. The data provided incorporates the full costs of running these offices, including salaries for Ministers, civil service and military staff, and special advisers, utilities, equipment and general administration. The figure for financial year 2007-08 includes costs incurred up to the end of February 2008.
	
		
			  Financial year  Running costs (£) 
			 2002-03 4,176,562.27 
			 2003-04 4,621,947.68 
			 2004-05 4,051,758.30 
			 2005-06 4,495,317.54 
			 2006-07 4,914,889.42 
			 2007-08 4,380,182.47

Performing Right Society

Gordon Banks: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was paid in Performing Right Society licence fees from the parliamentary estate in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Nick Harvey: There are no records of any direct licence fees being paid to the Performing Right Society.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licensees have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted under section 147A of the Licensing Act 2003 for persistently selling alcohol to those under age.

Vernon Coaker: No data is currently available. Section 147A of the Licensing Act 2003 was incorporated into the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 which came into effect on 1 April 2008.

Entry Clearances: Thailand

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for visitor visas were made by Thai nationals in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage were successful  (a) on first application and  (b) on appeal.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 April 2008
	The number of applications for visit visas made by Thai nationals (at any of our overseas posts) in each of the months during the period February 2007 to February 2008 is shown in table A as follows:
	
		
			  Table A 
			  2007  Applications  Issued  Refused  Withdrawn  Lapsed  Issue rate (percentage) 
			 February 2,131 1,855 246 7 0 88 
			 March 4,059 3,688 253 9 1 93 
			 April 2,505 2,302 232 6 1 91 
			 May 3,124 2,828 285 6 4 91 
			 June 3,006 2,726 237 12 1 92 
			 July 2,421 2,145 259 4 0 89 
			 August 2,534 2,217 289 19 1 88 
			 September 2,356 2,174 230 4 0 90 
			 October 2,689 2,395 291 12 0 89 
			 November 2,169 1,933 226 4 0 89 
			 December 1,121 1,002 134 5 0 88 
			  2008   
			 January 1,795 1,578 222 5 1 87 
			 February 2,586 2,253 250 1 0 90 
			 Total 32,496 29,096 3,154 94 9 90 
		
	
	Appeals data is only available by post, not by nationality. Data is therefore not available to show how many of those refused in the above table were later successful on appeal. The figures below in Table B relate to appeals received at our Embassy in Bangkok (and will therefore include appeals made by other nationalities). The number of appeals resolved each month during the same period, and the percentage of these that were successful, is shown.
	
		
			  Table B 
			  2007  Allowed  Dismissed  Allowed rate (percentage)  Dismissal rate (percentage) 
			 February 0 1 0 100 
			 March 0 1 0 100 
			 April 0 1 0 100 
			 May 2 1 67 33 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 1 0 100 0 
			 August 1 3 25 75 
			 September 0 2 0 100 
			 October 3 1 75 25 
			 November 2 0 100 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			  2008 
			 January 1 1 50 50 
			 February 0 0 0 0

Genetics: Databases

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 27 June 2007,  Official Report, column 31WS, on the Justice and Home Affairs Council, when she expects the UK to begin sharing data on fingerprints, DNA and vehicle registration under the terms of the EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation.

Jacqui Smith: The EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation (also know as the Prüm Council Decision) provides improved arrangements for the sharing of fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration data by law enforcement authorities. For example, where a DNA sample retrieved from a crime scene is searched against a national database and no match is found, the Council Decision permits for that data to be transmitted and searched through member states' national databases. A notification is sent to the requesting member state notifying of a hit or no hit i.e. matching profile. If a match is identified, further requests for information are processed through existing secure police channels allowing for appropriate data protection safeguards.
	The UK expects to begin sharing data in this way within three years of adoption and publication of the legal texts.

Immigration

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the two teams announced in paragraph 13 of her Department's Green Paper The Path to Citizenship: Next Steps in Reforming the Immigration System will make their report.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 April 2008
	The two cross-departmental teams are scoping work and will provide advice to Ministers in the summer.

Pornography: Internet

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under the Communications Act 2003 for using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images.

Jacqui Smith: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images under the Communications Act 2003 S.127 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	The Communications Act 2003 Section 127 came into full force on 29 December 2003.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images under the Communications Act 2003 S.127 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Proceeded against 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 214 
			 2005 355 
			 2006 550 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) The communications Act S.127 came into full force on 29 December 2003 (3) Data includes the following statute and corresponding offence description: Communications Act 2003 S.127 - Improper use of public electronic communications network. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, other agencies, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDS - Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Security: Licensing

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licence applications were not determined by the Security Industry Authority within  (a) three months,  (b) six months and  (c) 12 months in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The SIA is currently making a number of improvements to its handling of applications.
	The most recent period for which figures from the Security Industry Authority are available is October 2007. During that month approximately 861 applications, representing about 10 per cent. of the total applications decided that month, took the SIA over three months to determine. The reasons for the longer processing times in such cases would have included the need to make further inquiries of the applicant, or await the outcome of additional checks in respect of, for example, any overseas criminality convictions, clarification of qualifications or the right to work in the UK. The SIA does not hold data which shows how many applications were not determined within 6 or 12 months.

Departmental Consultants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which external consultants have been contracted by his Department since it was established for contracts in excess of £50,000; and what the work contracted for was.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Since this time the Department has spent in excess of £50,000 on the following:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Outsights Ltd 513,714.71 
			 KPMG 391,905.25 
			 Company Reporting Ltd 208,416.67 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 198,212.00 
			 SHIFTN 127,920.00 
			 Saxton Bampfylde Hever Plc 119,493.06 
			 PA Consulting Group 103,075.00 
			 Tribal Consulting Ltd 101,168.55 
			 Evidence Ltd 75,470.00 
			 Jags Consulting Ltd T/A Jags Consul 72,100.00 
			 Dialogue By Design 58,234.00 
			 Enterprise (AOL) Limited 54,400.00 
			 KMC International 51,451.10 
		
	
	To investigate specific contracts in excess of £50,000 at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the 10 highest items of expenditure on purchases by his Department were in the last 12 months for which are available.

David Lammy: We are unable to provide a response to this question as it does not specify sufficiently the basis on which this data is sought.
	To illustrate, the question does not state if it relates to running or capital costs or both, and if it relates to individual contracts or suppliers.

Tourism: North East

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government has taken to promote tourism in the North East since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Government support for tourism promotion in the north east, and the other eight regions of England, has increased substantially since 1997.
	From 1997-98 to 2002-03, the Northumbria Tourist Board received funding of between £241,000 and £570,000 a year from the former English Tourism Council (previously known as the English Tourist Board).
	As part of the DCMS Tourism Reform Programme, responsibility for supporting tourism passed to the regional development agencies (RDAs), including One NorthEast (ONE) in 2003. The RDAs together estimate total spending of £43.5 million on tourism support in 2007-08. ONE has made a substantial investment in the tourism sector; including funding of £1.7 million, £4.4 and £3.6 million in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively to promote the north east.
	At national level, DCMS funds VisitBritain to market and promote all parts of England, including the north east, to domestic and international visitors. Spreading the benefits of this work is an important part of the relevant funding agreement, which requires VisitBritain to achieve a specified proportion of additional expenditure by inbound visitors outside London. For 2005-06, the target was 55 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 61 per cent. For 2006-07, the target was 54 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 57 per cent..
	Further support for the sector, including the bulk of promotion to the domestic market (which makes up around 80 per cent. of the sector), is led by local councils. DCMS has also made substantial investment in heritage, arts and culture throughout the country since 1997. These sectors, in addition to their intrinsic value to the nation's cultural life, benefit the visitor economy.

Business: Finance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much he has allocated to business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) each financial year to 2010-11; and how much of this planned expenditure will be channelled via the regional development agencies' single pot in each such year.

Patrick McFadden: Regarding how much the Department allocated to business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development in 2007-08, I have nothing to add to the answer to the hon. Member on 18 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1288W.
	Regarding the amount of planned expenditure channelled through the Regional Development Agencies' single pot, my Department has allocated £535 million in 2008-09, £523 million in 2009-10 and £512 million in 2010-11 to the single budget.
	The RDA single budget is intended to deliver a range of statutory objectives including regeneration, business support, employment, skills and sustainable development. The RDAs detailed proposals covering the next three years will be set out in their corporate plans, which will be published in the near future.

Business: Regulation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what recent steps the Government has taken to minimise the burden of regulation for businesses;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government has taken to assist small businesses in the cost of dealing with regulation.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 5 March 2008
	Government undertook an exercise, supported by industry, to measure the Administrative Burdens that impact businesses of all sizes as a result of complying with regulations. Upon the completion of this exercise, 25 per cent. net targets by 2010 were set to reduce this burden.
	In December 2007, 19 Simplification Plans were published, showing more than 700 measures to reduce the burdens of complying with regulations. Over 280 of these measures have already been delivered saving businesses £800 million per year.
	Examples of include:
	 Simpler law for smaller businesses (BERR):
	Smaller businesses stand to benefit from substantial rewrite of Company Law. Coupled with better guidance, new provisions are expected to lower third party costs and make compliance easier. Conservative estimate of 2 million annual savings delivered.
	 Changes to Small Business Rate Relief (Communities):
	Small firms eligible for Small Business Rate Relief no longer have to register for relief annually. £3 million annual savings delivered, and expected to rise to £11 million by 2010.
	 Small Firms audit requirements (Financial Services Authority):
	Removed the need for 3,400 small firms to have a statutory audit, saving £12.9 million per year.
	Copies of these plans are available online at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/bre/policy/simplifying-existing-regulation/simplification-plans/2007/page44068.html

Post Offices: Closures

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to ensure that Post Office Ltd. does not prevent sub-postmasters, whose post offices are threatened with closure, from consulting their hon. Member.

Patrick McFadden: I understand that Post Office Ltd. only asks sub-postmasters to maintain confidentiality about the proposed closure of their own or neighbouring offices to avoid speculation which could be commercially damaging to the offices concerned until the relevant area plan closure proposals have been finalised for public consultation.
	Once proposals have been finalised for public consultation there is nothing to stop sub-postmasters discussing their views on the network change programme with their MP.

Small Businesses: Bureaucracy

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to reduce the burden of regulation for small and medium-sized businesses in West Lancashire constituency.

Patrick McFadden: Government undertook an exercise, supported by industry, to measure the administrative burdens that impact businesses of all sizes as a result of complying with regulations. Upon the completion of this exercise, 25 per cent. net targets by 2010 were set to reduce this burden.
	In December 2007, 19 simplification plans were published, showing more than 700 measures to reduce the burdens of complying with regulations. Over 280 of these measures have already been delivered saving businesses £800 million per year.
	Examples of include:
	 Simpler law for smaller businesses (BERR):
	Smaller businesses stand to benefit from substantial rewrite of company law. Coupled with better guidance, new provisions are expected to lower third party costs and make compliance easier. Conservative estimate of £2 million annual savings delivered.
	 Changes to Small Business Rate Relief (Communities):
	Small firms eligible for small business rate relief no longer have to register for relief annually. £3 million annual savings delivered, and expected to rise to £11 million by 2010.
	 Small Firms audit requirements (Financial Services Authority):
	Removed the need for 3, 400 small firms to have a statutory audit, saving £12.9 million per year. Copies of these plans are available online at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/bre/policy/simplifying-existing-regulation/simplification- plans/2007/page44068.html

Care Homes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps the Government plans to take to improve the treatment of older people in care homes;
	(2)  what steps the Government have taken to improve the investigation process when elder abuse has been reported in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: hol d ing answer 21 April 2008
	On 14 June 2007, I announced two important measures to help improve the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. This followed the publication of the "UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People: Prevalence Survey Report", by Kings College London and the National Centre for Social Research. The Department contributed £250,000 towards this research, which was jointly commissioned with Comic Relief.
	Plans are now being put in place to introduce a new national monitoring system to report the extent of abuse, so that each individual council can monitor abuse locally and act on it. This will be based on a standardised method for the collection of data on protection of vulnerable adult referrals in England, offering new understanding about the size of the challenge we face and allowing comparisons between councils.
	No Secrets, the existing statutory guidance on safeguarding vulnerable adults, which was issued in 2000, provides for health, social services and the police, to work together to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. Seven years on, and in the light of experience and knowledge gained, we are now working to review this guidance and to consult with the public and other Government Departments that have an interest in this field. We will also consider the case for legislation as part of the review process. A copy of the "No Secrets", guidance is available in the Library.
	On 27 March this year, I announced the launch of a further major research project, which is also to be co-funded by the Department and Comic Relief. The new study, entitled "Abuse, Neglect and Loss of Dignity in the Institutional Care of Older People, will examine the experience of older people"—and those caring for them—in institutional settings, such as care homes and national health service wards, and will focus more broadly on issues of loss of dignity as well as abuse or mistreatment. The tender process for this work will start shortly.
	Total funding of the new research initiative, which will comprise a series of linked studies over a three year period, will be £2 million.

NHS: Identity Cards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the Answer of 29 June 2005,  Official Report, column 1608W on identity cards, to the hon. Member for Harborough, what the conclusions were of his Department's consideration of the costs and benefits of using identity cards within the National Health Service, including the cost of card readers, with particular reference to the NHS Connecting for Health National Programme for IT;
	(2)  what stage has been reached in the development of the proposed NHS card referred to in section 2.21 of the NHS Improvement Plan, published on 24 June 2004;
	(3)  with reference to the Answer of 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 439W, on the European Health Insurance Card, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on links between  (a) an NHS card and  (b) Connecting for Health, and the identity cards programme.

Ben Bradshaw: It is too early in the process to make any conclusions of the costs and benefits of using identity cards within the national health service.
	There are no current plans to introduce an NHS card, although this will be kept under review.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets the Home Secretary and other ministerial colleagues to discuss matters of common interest, including on occasion the National Identity Scheme.

Schizophrenia

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of changes in the incidence of schizophrenia in 15 to 25 year olds in the last 30 years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the evidence linking cannabis use and the onset of schizophrenia in the 15 to 25 year age group;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the changes in incidence of psychosis in 15 to 25 year olds in the last 30 years.

Ivan Lewis: It is difficult to assess the trends in incidence of psychosis or schizophrenia for this age group over the last thirty years due to the relatively small numbers of people suffering from these conditions. This makes any assessment of statistical significance of a change vulnerable to error. Also during this time diagnosis classifications have changed for these conditions, which could mean that comparisons over this period would not be measuring like for like.
	The Department is concerned about the negative impact of cannabis use and intoxication on acute mental health patients and on mental health services, and about the increased evidence for a possible role for cannabis in the causation of longer-term disorders such as schizophrenia.
	The Department advises that cannabis use is harmful for people with existing mental health problems, being linked with relapse and resistance to treatments.
	Research data also indicates that the impact of cannabis is likely to be on those already vulnerable to onset of schizophrenia.
	It is also recognised that cannabis can cause an acute, short lived psychosis, from which the person recovers quickly following cessation of cannabis use but which, in severe cases, may require a short period of inpatient care. We keep the evidence and research in this area under constant review.

Smoking

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has allocated to  (a) Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) and its predecessor PCTs and  (b) PCTs with a similar smoking prevalence for smoking cessation in each of the last five years; and what the average smoking cessation budget was for PCTs in England in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The total revenue allocations made to Eastern and Coastal Kent primary care trust (PCT) for the period 2003-04 to 2008-09 are provided in the following table. These include allocations for national health service stop smoking services (SSS).
	
		
			  £000 
			   Allocation 
			  PCT name  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 643,780 704,384 769,650 917,451 1,013,331 1,068,679 
			  Note: Comparisons cannot be made between allocations rounds for the following reasons: organisational changes and changes are made to the weighted capitation formula for each allocations round, therefore, comparisons would not be on a like with like basis; and the first year that primary medical services were incorporated into revenue allocations was 2006-07. 
		
	
	The information requested on revenue allocations to PCTs with a similar smoking prevalence is not available in the exact format requested.
	Data on NHS SSS PCT allocation is not collected or held centrally.
	Aggregated data on total allocation to NHS SSS for strategic health authorities (SHAs) is collected and held centrally as part of the NHS stop smoking services quarterly monitoring return forms. Data for 2006-07 can be found in table 1.
	Data on smoking prevalence by PCT is not available. The General Household Survey provides estimates of smoking prevalence for adults by Government office region. This information is presented in table 2 for 2002 to 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: NHS stop smoking services allocation by strategic health authority, 2006-07, England 
			   £000 
			  England 56,690 
			   
			  North East Government Office Region 3,249 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 1,478 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 1,770 
			   
			  North West Government Office Region 9,420 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 3,627 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 2,289 
			 Greater Manchester 3,504 
			   
			  Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region 5,717 
			 North and East Yorkshire, Northern Lincolnshire 1,656 
			 South Yorkshire 1,693 
			 West Yorkshire 2,369 
			   
			  East Midlands Government Office Region 4,944 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 1,569 
			 Trent 3,375 
			   
			  West Midlands Government Office Region 7,473 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 4,008 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 1,703 
			 West Midlands South 1,762 
			   
			  East of England Government Office Region 4,493 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1,414 
			 Essex 1,301 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 1,777 
			   
			  London Government Office Region 9,228 
			 North Central London 2,055 
			 North East London 1,879 
			 North West London 2,064 
			 South East London 1,877 
			 South West London 1,352 
			   
			  South East Government Office Region 7,616 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1,483 
			 Kent and Medway 1,186 
			 Surrey and Sussex 3,033 
			 Thames Valley 1,913 
			   
			  South West Government Office Region 4,551 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2,007 
			 Dorset and Somerset 1,036 
			 South West Peninsula 1,508 
			  Source: The NHS Information Centre. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults( 1) , by Government office region, 2002 - 06, England 
			   Weighted (Percentage)  Thousand 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005( 2)  2006  Weighted bases 2006  Unweighted sample 2006 
			  England 26 25 25 24 22 36,613 14,292 
			 
			 North East 27 28 29 29 25 1,719 677 
			 North West 28 30 28 24 25 4,885 2,011 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 27 25 28 25 23 3,791 1,544 
			 East Midlands 24 27 27 25 20 3,444 1,426 
			 West Midlands 23 25 23 22 22 3,668 1,446 
			 East of England 25 25 24 23 19 4,170 1,686 
			 London 24 24 22 22 21 4,897 1,460 
			 South East 26 24 22 22 20 6,093 2,415 
			 South West 25 24 23 25 23 3,946 1,627 
			 (1) Aged 16 and over. (2) 2005 data includes last quarter of 2004-05 data due to survey change from financial year to calendar year.  Source: General Household Survey 2006. Office for National Statistics.

Westminster Primary Care Trust: General Practitioners

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 883W, on Westminster Primary Care Trust: general practitioners, what the  (a) names and  (b) locations are of the GP practices with closed lists within the Westminster Primary Care Trust; how many patients each has; what the cost of each practice to the NHS was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 21 April 2008
	The Primary Care Access Survey data for November 2007 to January 2008 show that the two general practitioner (GP) practices within Westminster Primary Care Trust (PCT) reported as having closed lists have list sizes of 2,942 patients and 3,704 patients. However, the data does not identify the names and locations of the practices. In addition, information about the cost of each practice to the national health service is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise these issues with the chief executive of Westminster PCT.
	Under the contractual arrangements for primary medical services, GP practice lists are classed as either 'open' or 'closed'. PCTs will grant a GP practice closed list status only once both parties have made reasonable endeavours to keep the list open and the conclusion is reached that this is not possible.
	The Department is currently exploring, as part of the NHS Next Stage Review being undertaken by the Parliamentary under Secretary of State (the Lord Darzi), whether further action is needed to ensure patients have more choice in the practice with which they register.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Anne McGuire: The following table provides the information that you have requested.
	
		
			   Conference Centres  Even t /N umber of  visit s  made  Date 
			  (a) Harrogate International Centre No visit made — 
			  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham No visit made — 
			  (c) Manchester Central No visit made — 
			  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow Glasgow Social Inclusion Round Table - Closing Speech 18 October 2005 
			  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre No visit made — 
			  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre No visit made — 
			  (g) The Brighton Centre, Brighton No visit made — 
			  (h) The Riviera Centre, Torquay No visit made — 
			  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London Future Services Network - Summit - Speech 26 June 2007 
			   21 Century Public Services - Putting People First -Speech 6 June 2006 
			   Remploy Event - Speech 14 June 2005 
			   ABI (Association of British Insurers) Conference -Speech 9 March 2005 
			  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands NAPF (National Association of Pension Funds) Annual Conference - Speech 8 June 2006 
			   Pensions Commissions event - Speech 21 June 2005 
			  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London No visit made

Employment: Vacancies

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unfilled job vacancies there were  (a) nationally and  (b) at York Jobcentre on (i) the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) in the same month in each year since 2000.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 25 February 2008
	Comprehensive estimates of all job vacancies, not just those notified to Jobcentre Plus, are available from the monthly Office for National Statistics Vacancy Survey since April 2001, based on a sample of 6,000 enterprises and are in the following table.
	
		
			  Vacancies as shown in ONS Vacancy Survey, United Kingdom 
			  Date  Number 
			 April 2001 670,900 
			 January 2002 589,100 
			 January 2003 578,400 
			 January 2004 580,200 
			 January 2005 650,400 
			 January 2006 588,300 
			 January 2007 627,700 
			 January 2008(1) 682,300 
			 (1) January 2008 data is provisional and subject to revision.  Notes: 1. Figures are seasonally adjusted. 2. Figures are based on a sample of some 6,000 enterprises. 3. Figures exclude agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. 4. The ONS survey is currently designed to provide national estimates only.  Source: Office for National Statistics Vacancy Survey, monthly estimates. 
		
	
	Comparable information on unfilled vacancies at jobcentres over time is not currently available because of changes in Jobcentre Plus procedures for taking and handling vacancies. There are around 2,010(1) unfilled vacancies at York Stonebow House jobcentre with on average 1,970(2) new vacancies being notified each month. These opportunities represent just a part of total recruitment in the local economy.
	(1) Average of unfilled vacancies over the last 12 months.
	(2) Average of vacancies notified over the last 12 months.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers in employment in his Department there were in each month since May 2005.

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows:
	 Part A
	The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007, bringing together the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Her Majesty's Court Service and Associated Offices, the National Offender Management Service, the Prison and Probation Services, and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	As this is a round robin question tabled to all Departments, prior to this Machinery of Government change on 9 May 2007 the National Offender Management Service, the Prison and Probation Services, and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform are included as part of the response from the Home Office.
	 Part B
	From May 2005 up to 9 May 2007 a response for the Former DCA part of the MoJ only is included. This includes Her Majesty's Court Service, Public Guardianship Office, Tribunals Service and Associated Offices.
	Therefore figures for this response are provided in two parts.
	 Part A - MoJ 9 May 2007
	 (a) Permanent Civil Service Posts & b) Permanent Non-Civil Service Posts (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	Information on the number of posts for the whole of the MoJ is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. The only Department that holds this information is the Public Sector Prison Service. This is recorded quarterly and is included in the following table. All these posts relate to Civil Servants. Decisions as to whether the identified posts are filled by permanent or temporary staff are made locally and not recorded centrally.
	
		
			  Public Sector Prison Service 
			  Date  Planned posts permanent/non-permanent split not defined  ( FTE ) 
			 30 June 2007 50,889 
			 30 September 2007 50,669 
			 31 December 2007 51,024 
			 31 March 2008 Info not yet collated 
		
	
	Figures for Permanent Civil Service Posts (Staff in Post - FTE) are available from the Former DCA, NOMS and OCJR. Figures on permanent non-civil staff are not held centrally by these departments and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  P ermanent civil service staff in post 
			  FTE 
			   NOMS and OCJR staffing figures  ( May 2007- March 2008 )  MOJ  s taffing figures (Former DCA) 
			 May 2007 1,684 24,339 
			 June 2007 1,672 24,418 
			 July 2007 1,660 24,237 
			 August 2007 1,656 24,144 
			 September 2007 1,669 24,068 
			 October 2007 1,685 24,075 
			 November 2007 1,727 24,004 
			 December 2007 1,733 23,939 
			 January 2008 1,725 23,906 
			 February 2008 1,747 23,908 
			 March 2008 1,750 23,781 
		
	
	 (c) Temporary or Agency workers in employment in his Department (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	For the MoJ, the Former DCA and Public Sector Prison Service can provide information only on Casual and Fixed Term appointment staff. No records of Agency or Contract staff are held centrally. NOMS and OCJR are able to provide information on both temporary and Agency Staff. These figures are in the following:
	
		
			  FTE 
			  Month/Year  MoJ (Former DCA)  (Casual and fixed-term appointment)  NOMS  and  OCJR  (Temporary and agency workers)  Public Sector Prisons Service  (Casual and fixed-term appointment) 
			 May 2007 743 180 1,703 
			 June 2007 807 183 1,722 
			 July 2007 985 194 1,763 
			 August 2007 1,016 212 1,767 
			 September 2007 988 219 1,704 
			 October 2007 939 228 1,736 
			 November 2007 937 232 1,773 
			 December 2007 971 229 1,826 
			 January 2008 972 305 1,795 
			 February 2008 981 301 1,764 
			 March 2008 844 303 1,715 
		
	
	 Part B—Former DCA up to 9 May 2007
	 (a)  Permanent Civil Service Posts and ( b) Permanent Non-Civil Service Posts (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	This information on posts is not held centrally and could be obtained only as at a disproportionate cost.
	 (c) Temporary or Agency workers in employment in his Department (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	The breakdown of permanent and temporary/casual employee's staff in post has been published as part of the Office for National Statistics Quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. This is the key official source of workforce numbers for the Civil Service and provides a breakdown of permanent and temporary/casual employees by Department. Statistics on the number of contractors employed by Departments are not published. The Civil Service statistics represent those employees paid directly from the Department's payroll. Any contractors employed via agencies and so not paid directly by the Department are not included. Temporary Staff in Post figures are included in the following table.
	The Former Department of Constitutional Affairs within the Ministry Of Justice (including Her Majesty's Court Service, Public Guardianship Office, Tribunals Service and Associated Offices) have a national contract with Kelly Services Ltd. for the provision of agency staff. Information relating to workers employed through employment agencies for the Ministry of Justice and its Agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Quarter/Year  M o J (Former DCA)  (Casual and fixed-term appointment)  ( FTE ) 
			 June 2005 710 
			 September 2005 699 
			 December 2005 633 
			 March 2006 667 
			 June 2006 624 
			 September 2006 731 
			 December 2006 714 
			 March 2007 710 
			 April 2007 712

Fixed Penalties

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many of each category of fixed penalty notices were  (a) issued and  (b) paid in each month since their introduction in each police force area;
	(2)  how many on-the-spot fines have been issued in each police area.

Maria Eagle: The most recent available information on motoring fixed penalty notices as well as data on penalty notices for disorder (PNDS) covering the years 2004 to 2006 have been provided in my earlier answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1288W.
	Additionally, data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for environmental offences are available from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) via the following web link:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/legislation/fpn/index.htm

Children in Care: Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what targets his Department has set to improve the educational outcomes of children in care; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: For CSR2007 there are three public service agreement targets for the educational achievement of looked after children (LAC). These are that:
	60 per cent. of LAC to obtain level 4 at key stage 2 in English by 2011;
	55 per cent. of LAC to obtain level 4 at key stage 2 in maths by 2011; and
	20 per cent. of LAC at key stage 4 to obtain five GSCEs graded A*-C (or equivalent), by 2011.
	These targets are reflected in the statutory targets for local authorities that form part of the new National Indicator Set.
	Not enough progress has been made on improving the educational achievement of LAC. They often face a wide range of barriers to learning that most children no not experience. However, we are determined to do more and improving the education of LAC is a top priority. It is key to improving their life chances and a successful transition to adulthood.
	We have set out our intentions in "Care Matters: Time for Change and the implementation plan Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care" published by the Government with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Children's Services, on Wednesday 26 March 2008.

Children: Databases

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much the ContactPoint database has cost to date; and how much has been budgeted to complete the project.

Kevin Brennan: Approximately £103 million has been spent to date on the ContactPoint project.
	The estimated set-up cost of ContactPoint is £224 million (most of which is expected to be incurred by the end of the financial year 2009-10). This includes: the costs of adapting existing systems that will supply data to ContactPoint and the costs of ensuring that data is accurate; adapting the day-to-day systems used by practitioners so they can access ContactPoint from them; and the costs of introducing robust arrangements to ensure proper security, and effective ContactPoint user training.
	Thereafter, estimated operating costs will be £41 million per year. Most of this will pay for the additional staff needed to ensure the ongoing security, accuracy and audit of ContactPoint.

Children: Databases

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) linkages and  (b) cross checks are proposed between data records of individuals on (i) the ContactPoint database and (ii) other Government databases.

Kevin Brennan: ContactPoint will hold, for each child or young person in England:
	basic identifying information: name, address, gender, date of birth and a unique identifying number;
	contact details for the child's parent or carer;
	contact details for services involved with the child: as a minimum school and GP practice, but also other services where appropriate; and
	the facility for practitioners to indicate to others if they are a lead professional, and have undertaken a common assessment, in relation to a child.
	There are no links in a child record to any other family members apart from the parent/carer details above. For safeguarding purposes, practitioners can make use of a facility in ContactPoint to search for previous and current co-residing children from a child record. In limited circumstances, details revealing the whereabouts of a child/young person and/or their parent/carer can be 'shielded'. The decisions to 'shield' will be taken case by case, based on the level of threat posed if information about their whereabouts was to be revealed.
	To ensure ContactPoint records are as accurate and up-to-date as possible, ContactPoint will cross-check, match and remove duplication of fragments of data received from a range of local and national data sources. These national data sources include a number of government departments, namely the Department of Work and Pensions, Department of Children, Schools and Families, Department of Health and Office of National Statistics. This is a one way process. No data will be supplied to another system from ContactPoint nor will users be able to access any other systems via ContactPoint.
	To support the Data Protection Act 1998, there will be mechanisms in place to notify data sources where discrepancies occur between differently sourced fragments. In doing so, the contents of ContactPoint records will not be shared with data sources.

Departmental Alcoholic Drinks

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families at how many events held by his Department  (a) wine and  (b) Fairtrade wine were served in the last three years; and what assessment his Department has made of the merits of serving Fairtrade wine at future events.

Kevin Brennan: Data on the number of events held by this Department where  (a) wine was served and  (b) Fairtrade wine was served is not held centrally. Gathering this information would be at a disproportionate cost.

Pupils: Epilepsy

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children with epilepsy were educated in mainstream primary and secondary schools in England in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made in its planning, policy and guidance for the education sector on the effects of epilepsy on a child's learning;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the merits of implementing statutory training requirements for those working with children who have epilepsy;
	(4)  whether his Department plans to make the collection of data regarding the number of children with epilepsy in schools mandatory at local authority level.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect data on epilepsy in schools and has no plans to make the collection of data regarding the number of children with epilepsy in schools mandatory at local authority level. It has also made no assessment of the impact of epilepsy on a child's learning or the need for statutory training requirements for those working with children who have epilepsy.
	Schools and their employers have responsibilities towards the health and safety of all staff and pupils, and this may include making arrangements for individual pupils with medical needs, where it is reasonable to do so. There is, however, no legal duty on school staff to manage a pupil's medicine or support a child's medical need. However, our guidance 'Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings' issued by this Department jointly with the Department of Health, encourages schools and local authorities to develop local policies on the management of pupil's medicines and on supporting pupils with medical needs, taking account of local resources and their various responsibilities. It specifically addresses what schools can do to help children with epilepsy and other medical conditions. We also produced sister guidance entitled 'Including me: managing complex health needs in schools and early years settings,' both were published in 2005.
	An individual health care plan can help staff identify the necessary safety measures to support children with medical needs and may reveal the need for staff to have further information about a medical condition or specific training. The employer should arrange appropriate training in collaboration with local health services.